Sunday 6 August 2017

Vocabulary Lists


In January 2016, I explained in the blog how I found it really effective when I taught vocabulary around the idea of words closely linked together in meaning. Students were able to make more meaningful descriptions and interpretations when they knew the subtle differences. Understanding the difference between an angelic view and an alluring view is incredibly important when developing an interpretation or creating a mood.

Below is a collection of the words grouped together. They are a collection of synonyms and antonyms grouped around one idea. Like the example below, students learn the words and then in class we look at the subtle variations of the word beautiful. We look at the meaning, effect and use of the words. The beach on holiday could be bewitching, exquisite, or enticing - just each word has a different effect.

The original blog can be found here.

Thanks for reading,

Xris


Beautiful

Word
Definition
Word Class
Alluring
Very attractive or tempting
A
Angelic
Like or belonging to an angel
A
Beauteous
Beautiful
A
Bewitching
As if witches or some form of magic makes you like it
A
Comely
Pleasing in appearance
A
Delicate
Fragile and easily damaged
A
Elegant
Tasteful or luxurious in style or appearance
A
Enticing
To attract someone
A
Exalted
Raised or elevated to a high position of rank, power, character or quality
A
Exquisite
A special and rare beauty or charm
A
Imposing
Very impressive because of great size, appearance or elegance

A
Pulchritudinous
Physically beautiful
A
Radiant
Emitting rays of light or bright with joy and hope
A
Ravishing
Extremely beautiful
A
Refined
Free from impurities 
A
Resplendent
Shining brilliantly
A
Statuesque
Like or suggesting a statue
A
Sublime
Impressing the mind with a sense of power and inspiring awe
A
Transcendental
Beyond ordinary or common experience
A
Wondrous
Wonderful or remarkable

A


Fear  

Word
Definition
Word Class
Abhorrence
A feeling of extreme dislike and loathing
N
Agitation
A feeling of physical unrest leading to pacing and hand-wring
N
Angst
A feeling of dread, anxiety or anguish
N
Aversion
A strong feeling of dislike or opposition
N
Awe
A feeling of something bigger and greater
N
Bewilder
To confuse or make a person puzzled
V
Consternation
A sudden feeling of alarming amazement or dread that caused confusion
N
Despair
A loss of hope
N
Discompose
To upset the order of things
V
Dismay
To break up a person’s courage
NV
Disquietude
A sense of being uneasy
N
Doubt
To hesitate to believe
V
Dread
To be in great fear
V
Foreboding
A strong feeling of something bad about to happen
N
Misgiving
A feeling of doubt or distrust
N
Qualm
An uneasy feeling or attack of conscience
N
Revulsion
A violent dislike of an item
N
Timid
Lacking confidence or courage
A
Tremor
A shaking of the body called by fear
N
Trepidation
A feeling of alarm or anxiety about something about to happen
N


Happy  

Word
Definition
Word Class
Bitter
Resentful or cynical – doesn’t like what happens  
A
Blissful
Full of extreme happiness
A
Contended
Feeling satisfied
A
Dismal
Causing gloom
A
Ecstatic
Feeling extreme joy
A
Elated
Very happy or proud
A
Glad
A sense of joy created by being pleased with something
A
Glum
Silently miserable
A
Grieved
To feel grief or great sadness / sorrow
V
Heartbroken
Suffering from intense grief
A
Joyous
Full of joy
A
Jubilant
Feeling triumph or success – extreme joy
A
Melancholy
A depressed or gloomy state of mind
A
Mournful
A feeling of grief or mourning for the dead
A
Overjoyed
To create a feeling of great joy or delight
V
Pessimistic
Expecting the worst thing to happen
A
Sombre
Extremely serious 
A
Sorrowful
A feeling of sadness caused by a loss
A
Thrilled
To cause a sense of excitement
V
Upbeat
Feeling cheerful and optimistic
A

 Loneliness  

Word
Definition
Word Class
Alienation
Being an outsider or the feeling of being an isolated by society
N
Aloof
Having different feelings to others or no sharing feelings with others
A
Concealment
A way or place of hiding
N
Confined
To shut up or keep in
V, A
Desolated
Deprived of inhabitants
V, A
Detachment
The act of separating
N
Disengage
To free a person from something 
V
Insular
Detached or standing alone
N
Isolated
Separated from other persons or things 
V, A
Partition
Something that separates two things
N
Privacy
Being away from people or hidden from view
N
Quarantine
Isolation is enforced by the government
N. V
Reclusive
A person who lives on their own, usually for religious reasons
N
Retreat
Withdrawing for safety or privacy
N, V
Rootless
Having no place in society
A
Sanctuary
A place of safety
N
Secluded
Sheltered or hidden from view
V, A
Segregation
Separating one part of society from another
N
Solitude
Living alone
N
Withdrawal
The act of retreating or removing a person from society
N

  
Love  

Word
Definition
Word Class
Adore
To admire something very much
V
Adulation
Extreme admiration
N
Affection
A feeling of fondness or tenderness to a person
N
Affinity
A natural liking or attraction to a person
N
Amorous
Displaying love or desire
A
Cherish
To show great tenderness or to treasure a person
A
Devotion
A strong attachment demonstrated by dedicated loyalty
N
Endearment
An act or utterance that shows affection
N
Fidelity
Faithful to a loved one and keep to their promise
N
Fondness
Showing tenderness or affection
N
Glorification
Treating something as more splendid than it actually is
N
Idolatry
Excessive or blind devotion to a person
N
Infatuation
An obsessive attachment which makes the person act foolishly
N
Lust
Intense sexual desire
N
Rapture
Ecstatic joy or delight – as if taken to another place
N
Tender
Treating something as if it is soft or delicate
A
Unconditional
Without conditions or limits
A
Unrequited
Not returned or repaid
A
Worship
To be devoted to and full of admiration
V
Yearning
An intense or overpowering longing, desire or need
N

People and Society

Word
Definition
Word Class
Aristocrat
A member of the superior, privileged or upper class part of society
N
Bourgeois
A member of the middle class
N
Commonwealth
A group of people united in a common interest
N
Conflux
A coming together of people or a crowd
N
Conservative
Wanting to preserve existing conditions or restore traditional ones
A
Democracy
A form of government in which the people vote for who is in power
N
Emancipation
The act of freeing or the state of being freed
N
Equalitarianism
The belief that all people should be equal
N
Federation
A union by agreement of several different groups
N
Mob
A disorderly or riotous crowd of people
N
Monocracy
A government led by only one person
N
Orthodox
An established or traditional point of view
A
Patrician
A person of noble or high rank or a very good background 
N
Plebeian
Belonging to the common people
A
Populace
The common people or the inhabitants of a place
N
Proletariat
A class of workers who earn their living by manual work – the working class
N
Republic
A state in which the power rests in the people and not a monarch
N
Schism
A division of group into opposing factions
N
Sovereignty
Supreme power or authority
N
Suffrage
The right to vote, especially in a political election 
N


Poverty

Word
Definition
Word Class
Bankruptcy
To lose all money or utter failure
N
Beggarly
Like a beggar
A
Depleted
To decrease by a large amount
V
Deprive
To remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of a person
N
Despair
A loss of hope or hopelessness
N, V
Destitute
Lacking food, clothing or shelter
A, V
Distressed
Suffering from great pain or agony
A
Famine
Extreme hunger or a lack of food
N
Hardship
A situation that is hard to cope with or causes suffering
N
Impoverish
To reduce to poverty or to make worse
V
Inadequate
Not suitable
A
Insufficiency
Not having enough power, money or amount of something
N
Malnourish
Not fed enough food

A, V
Meagre
Small, thin or lacking richness
A
Neglect
To pay no attention or pay too little attention to
N, V
Pauper
A person without any means of support
N
Penniless
Without any money
A
Scarcity
When there is a lack of something
N
Starve
To die or perish because of a lack of food
V
Woeful
Unhappy
A


Savagery

Word
Definition
Word Class
Barbarity
A brutal or inhuman contact
N
Bloodthirsty
Eager to shed blood
A
Brutal
To describe a cruel, inhuman, savage aspect
A
Callousness
Hardened or unsympathetic
attitude  
A, V
Civilised
To be educated, refined and enlightened
V, A
Crude
Natural, blunt or underdeveloped
A
Deprave
To make morally bad or evil
V
Feral
Having the characteristics of a wild animal
A
Ferocious
A violently cruel or as a wild beast, person or aspect
A
Homicidal
Wanting to kill a person
A
Ill-bred
Showing a lack of social breeding; unmannerly; rude
A
Inhuman
Not human or lacking human feelings such as sympathy, warmth or compassion
A
Malice
A desire to inflict injury, harm or suffering on another because of meanness or an impulse
N
Masochism
To take enjoyment from being cruel to oneself through own actions or another’s actions
N
Merciless
Showing no mercy or compassion
A
Ruthless
To act without pity or compassion
A
Sadism
To take enjoyment from being cruel
N
Spite
A desire to harm, annoy, frustrate or humiliate another person
N
Uncivilised
To not be educated or cultured
V, A
Vicious
Bad tempered or violent
A


Ugly  

Word
Definition
Word Class
Appalling
Causing dismay or horror
A
Beastly
Like a beast
A
Coarse
Harsh or of an inferior quality
A
Debased
To reduce in quality or value
V
Deformed
Having the form changed to lose beauty
A
Degenerate
To fall below normal levels of physical, mental or moral qualities
V
Disfigured
To destroy the appearance or beauty of an item
V
Grisly
Causing a shudder or a feeling of horror
A
Homely
Lacking in physical attractiveness
A
Ignoble
Inferior or of a low grade or quality
A
Iniquitous
Something we associate with wickedness
A
Loathsome
Causing feelings of disgust
A
Misshapen
Badly shaped
A
Nauseating
Causing sickness
A
Nefarious
Something extremely wicked
A
Noxious
Harmful or likely to cause injury
A
Repelling
To make people want to leave
V
Repugnant
Not to a person’s taste or offensive
A
Repulsive
Causing people to avoid
A
Vulgar
A lack of taste
A



Villains / heroes

Word
Definition
Word Class
Agitator
A person who stirs things up to make people unhappy 
N
Anarchist
A person who wants to change the order of thing. They usually use violence 
N
Antihero
A hero who lacks the usual qualities associated with a hero such as courage, strength and kindness
N
Brute
A brutal, cruel person
N
Creep
An unpleasant, obnoxious person
N
Daredevil
A reckless and daring person
N
Entrepreneur
A person who takes the initiative
N, V
Gallant
A brave person who usually does things for the right reason
N
Idol
A person who admired and respected
N, V
Lowlife
A despicable person who has done something to be disliked
N
Mercenary
A person who only does things for money
A, N
Mischief-maker
A person who likes to cause mischief or problems
N
Opportunist
A person who adapts their behaviour to take advantage of the situation
N, A
Protector
A person who protects
N
Rascal
A dishonest person
N
Role model
A person whose behaviour is copied by others
N
Romantic
An unrealistic or exceptionally positive point of view
A
Saint
A person of great goodness
N
Scoundrel
A person without honour
N
Vanquisher
A person who conquers through force
N


War 

Word
Definition
Word Class
Affray
A fight in a public place
N, V 
Barrage
A large quantity of artillery fire to protect one’s own advancing or retreating troops
N
Battle
A fight between two opposing military forces
N, V
Carnage
The slaughter of a great number of people
N
Clash
To disagree or to engage in physical conflict
V
Cold war
A political, economic, military rivalry which doesn’t include violence or military action
N
Combat
Active, armed fighting with an enemy force
N
Conflict
A fight that takes over a longer period 
N, V
Contention
A struggle between opponents – a competition
N
Crusade
A long, on-going fight for a particular reason – often led by a religious idea
N
Dispute
To argue, quarrel or debate about something
N, V
Enmity
A feeling of hatred or ill will
N
Fray
A fight or a noisy quarrel
N
Havoc
Great destruction or devastation
N, V
Hostility
Opposition or resistance to an idea, plan or project  
N
Onslaught
A violent attack
N
Ravage
To cause a large amount of damage or havoc
N, V
Skirmish
A small or brisk fight between very few soldiers
N
Struggle
To advance with violent effort or to battle or fight
N, V
Warfare
Armed struggle between two nations or groups of nations 
N


Boredom 

Word
Definition
Word Class
Apathy
A lack of interest, concern, passion for a subject
N
Ardour
With great warmth and feeling
N
Detachment
When a person doesn’t engage with a topic / aspect
N
Eagerness
Impatiently keen or determined to do something
A, N
Ecstasy
Excitement that overpowers a person
N
Elation
A feeling of great joy or pride
N
Exhilaration
To be lively and cheerful
N
Fatigue
To be physically or mentally tired
A
Fervour
With great intensity or belief
N
Frenzy
Wild excitement
N
Indifference
A lack of interest or concern
N
Lassitude
Physical or mental weariness
N
Lethargy
Feeling tired, drowsy and having no energy
N
Listlessness
Showing no interest in something
A
Monotony
A lack of variety and that the same thing is happening all the time
N
Passion
A strong extravagant feeling of fondness, enthusiasm or desire
N
Tedious
Causing a person to be tired or sleepy
A
Tedium
The state of being bored
N
Verve
Showing enthusiasm or spirit
N
Vivacity
Being lively or very animated
N